Khloe Kardashian has revealed her ex husband Lamar Odom doesn't know why he's in hospital, as she fears the truth would "set him back".

It comes amid reports he doesn't recognise his friends and family.

The former professional basketball player was believed to be doing well after he was found unresponsive at a Las Vegas brothel last month, but his condition is reportedly much worse than first thought as it's claimed he can't recognise some of his nearest and dearest.

TMZ reports he is finding "communication and mobility" difficult and has "made little progression in the last couple weeks" leading doctors to conclude he has suffered a considerable amount of brain damage.

Lamar Odom is recovering still

The 36-year-old sportsman - who is still married to Khloe Kardashian despite their split in 2013 - is also unaware of how he ended up in the hospital because they fear informing him about the drink and drug-infused binge which led to his organs shutting down may "set him back".

Khloe explained: "I can't tell him. We tell him he had a brain injury, I can't tell him how that brain injury was caused. It will set him back."

The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star - who rushed to his hospital bedside when she heard about the incident - has also given an update about his general condition admitting there's "a long long road ahead".

Khloe opened up about her ex (Image: Ellentube)

Khloe appeared on Ellen (Image: Ellentube)

In an interview on Ellen, she said: "He is off all the machines that help his organs but he has such a long way to go.

"He's learning how to walk again and feed himself again and put sentences together. Cognitively there is a lot ... it's a long long road ahead.

"He couldn't put words together today. But he understands.

"He's really confused a lot we have to remind him. Every day is different.

"Sometimes he knows who the president is, and his birthday, and other times he thinks he's 26, and I say: 'I bet you wish you were 26, so do I.'"